*Editor’s note: This post was updated at 9 p.m. on Friday, July 29.
The Urbana Free Library will re-open at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 30 after closing its doors all day Friday due to a bed bug being found in the building.
Celeste Choate of the Urbana Free Library said earlier Friday the decision would be made after the conclusion of a K-9 assessment scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Choate said library staff found one bed bug on a desk in the Champaign County Historical Archives staff workroom.
“We are taking this seriously and have consulted with experts and other libraries who have had similar experiences,” Choate said. “We have hired a K-9 team to assess the entire building this afternoon.”
“After the assessment, we will share what we have learned, and any appropriate actions we will be taking, with the public,” she added.
Choate said she is not aware of this happening at the Urbana Free Library before.
The Barnes and Noble Book Fair will still take place as planned on Saturday, July 30, and Sunday, July 31, at Barnes and Noble. A percentage of purchases will benefit the Urbana Free Library.
The Urbana Free Library posted late Thursday night on its Twitter and Facebook social media accounts that it would be closed Friday, and pointed patrons to its website for an explanation. 
“Staff found a bed bug in a staff area of the Library,” the Urbana Free Library website reads. “It is necessary to close the Library in order to complete a thorough inspection. After consulting with experts, we are initiating a comprehensive strategy to inspect, treat, and mitigate any further encounters with this pest.”
Because this information was posted so late, no one was available at the Urbana Free Library to speak about the bed bug situation with chambanamoms.com. This report was sourced solely from what was published on the library website and social media outlets.
While the original post on the Urbana Free Library mentions that the library will be closed on Friday, July 29, it wasn’t explicit if the building will re-open to the public on Saturday, July 30.
“We feel confident that our comprehensive course of action has addressed the immediate issue and this will prepare our staff to respond to any potential concerns,” the post says.
Bed Bug infestations have become quite common in libraries in the past few years, although there haven’t been any reported publicly in local area buildings. The closest examples include Hannibal, Mo., and Dubuque, Iowa.
It’s such a problem that the Public Library Association has a webinar on the prevention and treatment of Bed Bugs in public libraries available to its members.
An article in the New York Library Association wrote, “Considering the number of sightings in libraries in recent months, it’s not a matter of if a facility will get bed bugs, it’s a matter of when. Those that take lightly the challenge bed bugs represent and the issues they cause will have bigger problems when bed bugs strike.”
We will update with more information as possible.